A Valentine’s Day “fatwa”
Stumbled across this news today: “No love on Valentine’s Day, Sena on a rampage“
“… In Delhi, about a dozen Sena protesters briefly blocked a road early on Wednesday and burnt Valentine’s Day cards and gifts, chanting ‘Down with Valentine’.
In Lucknow, Sena activists sent out a diktat against Valentine’s Day celebration and threatened to beat up couples found celebrating their love.
“Our volunteers will check parks, hotels and restaurants and swoop upon young lovers found walking hand-in-hand,” Vijay Tiwari, a Shiv Sena activist in Lucknow, said. “We are deadly against Valentine’s Day,” Sapan Dutta, a Sena leader, said. “We are for civilized love and affection.”
In Pune, activists of Sena Bharatiya Vidyarthi Sena, Shiv Sena’s student wing, protested outside prominent colleges. They tore Valentine’s Day cards and shouted slogans. Several Vidyarthi Sena activists were taken into custody and police pickets have been deployed outside the colleges.
In Indore, Sena activists demonstrated and raised slogans against Valentine’s Day celebration near the Gandhi statue.
…
The clarion call to Shiv Sena workers to oppose Valentine’s Day came from none other than the Sena chief himself. Writing on Sena mouth piece Saamna, Sena patriarch Bal Thackeray said the party’s opposition to Valentine’s Day will continue as it has ‘nothing to do with Indian culture’.
Only those who are not patriotic and has a lot of parents’ money to spend will celebrate the day, and ‘Sainiks’ will continue to oppose the foreign culture, he said through the article. “
I would love to rip this argument apart but unfortunately I am constrained by time today…so here are some extempore comments…
This is madness…
While I agree that Valentine’s Day has nothing to do with Bharatiya culture, does that mean that Shiv Sainiks have the authority to go about bashing people who may not agree or (more likely) are just having a nice time?
Vandalising property and threatening innocent, harmless couples is not Bharatiya culture either..
How far are we from a dictatorship? and what happened to the famed Bharatiya and Hindu virtues of tolerance and liberalism?
And in any case, what has all this go to do with being “patriotic”?
Related Posts:
And if you have some more time, let me know your thoughts on how far are we away from this?
P.S. Has anyone heard of Vasant-Utsav? Read this and this (recommended, unfortunately only in Hindi)
i think shiv sena is right! after all love destroys humanity. i heard love dropped the atomic bomb in japan, love shot Gandhi in the chest, and love gave me herpes last year. So, i agree with ss, hail hatred
that is after all what our country is running on right now.
Comment by aniche | February 14, 2008
Dear Sir,
It is not that I am against this Valentines Day, but in way I may be shooting my mouth off or even digressing from this matter; but I feel that the Shiv Sena are on the right track of asking the people not to celeberate this Day.
The methodology adopted by them is something abhorring and other suitable means should be employed to wean our youngsters from this pernicious practice.
It is these kinds of indescretions encouraged by the avarious media and marketer’s that our youth are weaned away from the proper direction of our “Bharathiya Culture”. This tends to eat into the true entrails of the “Real Culture” and once again we may need an Independence Struggle.
The point I am trying to make here is that all that we hear of is not true love. Most of it is gleaned from the two bit American and Indian movies. The trash that is piled on day by day, is thought as true life and people end up in misery.
If we nip it in the bud I am sure we can save our youth from the destructive influence from these type of stupid days.
It is only because of these Days that we end up having confused youth who then tend to blame everybody for the mess than themselves, for being in a mess later.
It is these calf loves that lead to the break up of the Family culture of true “Bharat” and we have nuclear families and Old Age homes.
Let us request the Shiv Sena for adopting better and other means socially adaptable for the “SECULAR MEDIA” which will assist those trying to protect the “Bharatiya Culture” not going the “AZTEC OR AMERICAN INDIAN WAY”.
Regards,
vck
Comment by v.c.krishnan | February 15, 2008
It is despicable the way shiv sena show their opposition to valentines day. I don’t celebrate it but it does not mean i will not allow others to. These guys should be arrested and charged for harassing couples and property damage. Bharatiya culture is not about such acts either.
Comment by Prakash | February 15, 2008
VCK,
I am honoured to have met you online, the custodian of Bharatiya culture and am delighted by your indefatigable hatred of any other custom or thought process. You are truly the symbol of all that is great in our ancient culture, as epitomised by the Vedas.
I am sure that you embody this in your personal life as well, living in a thatched kutir, wearing unstitched, home spun yarn, eating delicious Bharatiya meals cooked over a wood fired chullah, and sending your children to the nearest gurukul.
But, what is this ….. you have been writing into this forum using a PC and the internet, long known to be the devils’ spawn and residence of all that is anti-Bharatiya? Oh, dear!
Comment by Patriot | February 15, 2008
Shantanu,
I came across an interesting news story in today’s metro edition of HT, titled “A Different Valentine’s Day”
“Students of a Noida Degree College” celebrated V-Day by planting a Kadamba tree symbolizing the love between Radha and Krishna ”
…
..
“Instead of following western culture and wasting money on greeting cards and gifts, which last but for a few days, one should plan trees. Besides being long-lasting memorial, they increase the green cover of the city.”
Of course, there could be a counter point that in this age of speed dating, who cares for any thing long-lasting…
Comment by Pragya | February 15, 2008
Bharat- A Land of Excess
1. We enjoy cricket, love cricket. To show love, we can make riots, destroy millions of rupees properties, kill people, burn effigies of who didn’t perform and so, and we can go to any extremes to satisfy our sadistic desires.
2. I say, celebrate “Prem Diwas” everyday, 365 days a years, 30 days a month, 7 days a week, 24 hours a day, 60 seconds a miniute and fractions of seconds… Who is asking, not to celebrate? But do it the human-way, not like the way Street Dogs does. I have respect for the Dogs, as they are Dogs and not gifted with intelligence like we human-beings.
3. Bharat is the land of Prem, Kamasutra, land of so many Prem affairs stories. But my point is that, don’t be sexually frustated DOGS. To me, those who use the so-called V-day as love day, find a way to express their sexual furstations like the way dogs does. Why not celebrate LOVE everyday, that will make sense. That make your life happier, romantic, full of joy.
4. I was told and later seen, how in Sravan-Bhadra months, dogs become mad. Mad for finding sex-mates (I put sex-mates, as they really don’t celebrate long-term love relationship, but fulfill the desire born out of an instant). Dogs don’t born as pairs like birds, so they go with any dogs the moment they are aroused. To me, those who celebrate V-day are akin to sexually frustated Dogs.
5. Go to west, and see if anybody is running like Dogs on the streets as in Bharat on that so-called Love day. None, runs; those wish to celebrate, celebrate it in their own way- gfting flowers, gifts, going to a resturant in the evening etc. They don’t disturb others peace on their way of celebrations.
6. Last point: If we ask, who are the authority to prevent V-day celebrations? Then we must also ask, who are the authority to disturb our peace, social peace? Do we want our sisters/brothers marry one day and file divorce applications the next day? Do we want our soceity go to DOGS?
7. Who cares, if there are on an average 200 divorce applications in Pune City alone every months by the educated youths of today? Who cares, if the whole nation engulfed with western-style marry and divorce syndrome, and then spent night in the night-clubs, pubs, bars, discos, and so on? A responsible nation and society cares, else society will Dog way.
8. We are slowly experiencing GUN culture in schools. Wait a bit, the blind following of bad things from the west (there are good things in the west too, we rarely adopt them) will explode the society (urban society esp).
Bharat
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Comment by Bharat | February 19, 2008